Homestand Continues Against LA Schools

TEMPE, Ariz. -- For the second week in a row, Sun Devil Volleyball will be in Desert Financial Arena for a pair of home matches, hosting USC on Friday at 7 p.m. MST before taking on No. 14 UCLA on Sunday at 1 p.m. MST.

How to Watch
Desert Financial Arena will be open to the public and tickets are available here. Fan safety protocol information is here. Friday's match will be on the ASU Live Stream and Sunday's will be on the Pac-12 Network. Follow along on social media, @SunDevilVB on Twitter and @sundevilvolleyball on Instagram, for more updates.

Friday's matchup against USC is the Pink match to help raise awareness for breast cancer, and fans are encouraged to wear pink to match the team, who will be in pink socks. On Sunday, fans are encouraged to wear black to black out the Bruins.

Sun Devil Outlook
Arizona State (8-9, 1-5 Pac-12)

• The Sun Devils are looking to bounce back in the last two matches of their four-match homestand after dropping consecutive contests against Washington State on Thursday and a five-set match to now No. 10 Washington. ASU currently leads the Pac-12 in three categories: total digs, total assists and total kills, due in part to playing eight five set matches this season. 
• Junior outside hitter Iman Isanovic continues to be a force on offense for the Sun Devils after having an outstanding performance against UW where she had 22 kills while hitting a .373 clip and also talling 12 digs. Isanovic also continues to lead the Pac-12 in kills with 261 so far this season.
• As the anchor of Arizona State's offense, sophomore setter Ella Snyder had a career-high 51 assists in Sunday's match versus the Huskies and surpassed 1,000 career assists (1,017). Snyder now has had four matches this season with 40 or more assists and also has six double-doubles this season.
• The defense duo of Annika Larson and Jamye Cox has racked up a high number of digs this season. Larson, a junior, is first in the Pac-12 in total digs (272) and has had 12 matches reaching double-digit digs. Grad transfer Cox had her first start as a Sun Devil at libero on Sunday where she had 17 digs and four assists, both season highs. 
• Two Sun Devils have aided Isanovic in providing offense for the squad. Sophomore pin hitter Marta Levinska is just shy of 200 kills on the season, currently sitting at 194. Sophomore Claire Jeter is at 155 total kills this season and leads the team with a .346 hitting percentage and 67 blocks.  
• Freshman outside hitter Geli Cyr had a break-out performance on Sunday. She notched a career-high 12 kills, reaching double figures in kills for the first time along with no reception errors while being targeted 13 times on serve receive. 

Opponent Outlook
USC (7-8, 3-3 Pac-12)

• Last season, the Trojans finished the conference-only season with a 7-8 record and finished seventh in the Pac-12. USC and Washington State played in the second-fewest matches in the conference with only 15 after having seven of their matches canceled due to COVID-19 protocols and injuries.
• Over the weekend, the Trojans split two matches against ranked Pac-12 opponents to bring their record to .500 in conference play. They were swept by No.17 Utah on Friday and defeated then-No. 24 Colorado in four sets on Sunday.
• The Sun Devils were supposed to face the Trojans in Los Angeles in the spring 2020-21 season, but both matches ended up being canceled due to COVID-19 protocols on USC's end. This will be the first matchup between these teams since 2019 when the teams met just once that season and USC won a five-set match in Tempe.
• Outside hitter Brooke Botkin leads the Trojans in kills with 231 on the season and has reached double figures in all matches this season. Setter Raquel Lázaro is the team leader in assists with 440 and has 40+ assists in four matches this season. 

No. 14 UCLA  (12-2, 5-1 Pac-12)

• In the 2020-21 season, the Bruins finished with a 15-7 record and finished fifth in the Pac-12. UCLA made it to the NCAA tournament where the team advanced to the second round.
• Last weekend, UCLA faced Colorado and Utah, who were both ranked, and swept both opponents in straight sets. The Bruins now have four ranked wins on the season, beating No. 16 Georgia Tech and No. 18 Stanford as well.
• The Sun Devils dropped both matches against the Bruins in the spring. ASU is looking to snap an 11-match losing streak against UCLA.
• Outside hitter Mac May leads the team in kills this season with 243 kills and averages 4.50 kills per set. She earned a Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week a week ago for notching 39 kills in their win at WSU. Outside hitter Charitie Luper has also earned a weekly award when she was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week a couple weeks ago.